Blog of Alex Hacker's Two Year Mission to the LDS Paris, France Mission 2015-2017

Alex

Monday, August 8, 2016

Week 36 - What did you learn today? (July 25)

Hello all of you beautiful people.

I hope you all had good weeks! What was something you learned this week?.. And if you don't have an answer to that question then maybe you are not remembering well. After school during family dinner my father, bless his graying hairs, would usually ask what was one thing we learned at school. And his flock of four children would often struggle to come up with something. "That I don't like school" was a somewhat common response. [But was not accepted as a valid answer] And now, many years later, I recognize the value of the question! It wasn't just to bother his children after all but to invite them to retain what they had learned, and learn to learn something each day. So I now pose you the same question that was posed daily around the scratched well-used surface of the Hacker-family table: what was one thing you learned today?

If any of you know my mother or the youngest child of my sister be sure to wish them happy birthday. I learned today that one of my dearest friends was married. And I am filled with joy that this person found someone to spend her life with!

There was a man with a bright pink shirt who had just finished leaving his store that sold men's fashion bags when he found himself approached by two young Americans who tried their very best to speak with him in his native tongue. He said something that one of the chipper American lads found unusual. Something to the effect: "when you are young, you want to change the world but then once you've put yourself in the world you find that it changes you." The conversation went on and we chatted for a bit. We all agreed that changing the whole world was a pretty lofty goal. I told him that my world had certainly been changed. People, events, etc... Had shaped the way I view, understand, and live in the world. And that is what changing the world should actually consist of. I visualize myself and a Mark Kim talking in a Barnes and Noble one evening- I had just spent the day chopping strawberries at a frozen yogurt store. I asked him if he wanted to change the world, and he reciprocated the question. With all the teenage dreams in the world we made our grand plans right there in the Barnes and Noble. Changing the world was as simple as changing the lives of a few people. Which is something everyone of you have already done.

Since I last rambled I spent a full day in the city of Calais and Saint Omer. Missionary work in these two cities is mostly talking with people on the street. Chatting with those resting on park benches. Chatting with people who were just taking a walk. Speaking with these glorious strangers makes up a huge part of the last few weeks. It is something I have really grown to love! Not only does it give me that chance to find someone whose live can be changed, but it also give me the chance to change my life for the better as well.

About Me

My name is Alex Hacker and I have been called to serve as a full-time missionary for two years for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the France Paris mission. While I'm away I get to send home emails which my family is collecting and putting into this blog.